2 Injured in Bus Accident on U.S. Highway 98 in Bartow, FL

Bartow, FL — January 22, 2026, two people were injured in a bus accident at about 6:40 a.m. on East Van Fleet Drive/U.S. Highway 98.

Authorities said a Citrus Connection bus allegedly ran a red light at North Holland Parkway/U.S. Highway 17 and collided with three other vehicles.

The bus driver and one other person was hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries after the crash, according to authorities.

Authorities have not released any additional information about the Polk County crash at this time. The accident is still under investigation.

Commentary by Attorney Michael Grossman

When folks hear that a city bus reportedly ran a red light and collided with multiple vehicles, the first question that usually comes to mind is: How does that even happen? Most people assume buses are driven carefully, especially on main roads during early morning hours. So when something goes this wrong, we have to ask what really caused the bus to be in the intersection when it wasn’t supposed to be.

At the moment, we don’t know if the driver admits to running the light, or if this is just what initial reports suggest. There’s also no word yet on whether the bus was carrying passengers, whether the driver was distracted or impaired or whether mechanical failure played a role. Without answers to those basic questions, it’s too soon to point fingers with any confidence.

That’s why thorough investigation matters. For instance, most modern transit buses are equipped with on-board surveillance systems. These include exterior cameras that can show whether the bus truly entered the intersection on red, and interior cameras that may reveal what the driver was doing at the time. Some systems also log braking and speed data, which helps confirm whether the driver attempted to stop or even saw the signal.

Beyond the bus itself, traffic signal timing records can be crucial in crashes like this. If the light sequence at that intersection is poorly timed or hard to see from certain angles, that could be a factor too. I’ve handled cases where a supposed red-light violation turned out to be a mistake in how the signals were synchronized.

There’s also the question of the driver’s record and training. Was this someone with prior incidents? Did the transit agency have procedures in place for vetting and monitoring driver performance? Again, those aren’t accusations; they’re just the kind of questions any serious investigation needs to answer if we want to get to the truth.

If it turns out the bus did run a red light, and the driver had a clean record and no obvious distractions, then we may have to look at larger operational or supervisory issues. Was the driver behind schedule? Under pressure to make up lost time? Those pressures, though rarely discussed publicly, often lead to bad decisions behind the wheel.

Key Takeaways:

• It’s unclear whether the bus actually ran the red light or if that’s still being investigated.
• Dash cam footage and signal timing logs will be critical to determining what really happened.
• The bus driver’s background, training and conduct at the time of the crash all need close review.
• Mechanical failure or driver distraction are unanswered questions at this point.
• Without all the evidence, it’s premature to draw conclusions about who is at fault.